Israel Gives Chutzpah New Meaning
The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew hutspa. It means insolence or audacity. The Urban Dictionary adds "unmitigated effrontery or impudence." Leo Rosten's "The Joys of Yiddish” calls it "gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible guts, presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to." Rosten said it embraces "that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."
Israeli extremism matches these definitions and then some. For decades, it's been the tail wagging the US dog. The so-called special relationship is more liability than benefit. Rights afforded Israel do more harm than good. US interests are sacrificed. America loses more than it gains. World peace is threatened. Both countries threaten humanity. Serious reassessment of this hellish relationship is long overdue. Washington does more than let Israel get away with murder. It actively aids and abets it. It concurs on virtually everything Israel wants. Media scoundrels approve. They turn a blind eye to Israel's worst crimes.
Rare criticisms are muted. A December 3 New York Times editorial headlined "Mr. Netanyahu's Strategic Mistake," saying:
He "dug in" his heels. He's "escalat(ing) a crisis." He's increasing settlement construction and withholding tax revenues collected for Palestine. He threatened more punitive measures. He "ma(de) it nearly impossible to restart peace negotiations." He "threaten(s) to crush the Palestinian Authority, and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, who….represents the only credible peace negotiator."